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Topic: Trying to finish some races I struggled with before (13,2,4,9,8) (Read 4190 times)

I thought I would have another go at finishing those seasons I didn't quite manage to earlier this year. I started with season 13 and I did it!

It's not actually as bad as I thought. The cast isn't that likeable, but I suppose the winners are ok. The big thing that puts it above a season like the current one is that there are better challenges. For instance that wooden bicycle going down hills at that speed just wouldn't be allowed now. They make everything easier now. Funny where they got all that powder thrown over them as well, or had to work out the pattern on the maori warriers faces.

Still some things that annoy me and mean I can't have it among my big favourites though. The romance thing they push is annoying, same in AR3 but that at least had a better cast. Losing a passport kills any suspense in a leg, so that happening does lessen a season. Also other teams helping others out and enabling them to survive a leg without them doing so on their own merit irks me. Dan and Andrew should have been eliminated and the all girl team (reminiscent of the red heads in a later season) should have continued their rivalry with the siblings. On the positive side we did get some ridiculous footage of them doing the marching task, but I think it was at too big a cost.

« Last Edit: December 08, 2012, 06:40:11 AM by starrynight »

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I really liked TAR13. I agree that the cast is not the best (but still way better than some recent seasons). I found Dandrew quite fun to watch (I love underdogs), Ken & Tina created some sort of drama, and I really liked Toni & Dallas.

But this season task-wise I think is one of my top five. I simply loved the Indian legs (the first was a night time leg; the second one featuring the powder task - I also loved one side of that leg's Detour where they needed to follow small numbers on power lines). I loved Kazakhstan, and the Russian legs were quite hard.

I really liked TAR13. I agree that the cast is not the best (but still way better than some recent seasons). I found Dandrew quite fun to watch (I love underdogs), Ken & Tina created some sort of drama, and I really liked Toni & Dallas.

But this season task-wise I think is one of my top five. I simply loved the Indian legs (the first was a night time leg; the second one featuring the powder task - I also loved one side of that leg's Detour where they needed to follow small numbers on power lines). I loved Kazakhstan, and the Russian legs were quite hard.

This season is definitely not on the same level as TAR15/16/21.

I like underdogs too, but Dan and Andrew were a bit dull as characters I thought. I agree on Ken and Tina (mainly for Tina, driven women I often like on the show), and the final two wasn't bad which certainly made me happier about finishing this season. However I found Dallas rather boring. One of the parent/child teams that didn't quite work for me.

The end was obviously not that close, as we didn't see the teams near each other after the good memory task. So despite the editing I thought is was obvious which team would be first, however the memory task had them close and even one team overtaking the other which made it exciting at that stage.

Having a go at AR4. The boot order is frustrating. Reichen and Chip bore me, they picked a detour that was quicker so were lucky to beat out Tian Jaree, then they luck out on getting lost but being on track to the fast forward and so beat out another team Millie Chuck who I was hoping would get to the final. The route is good but might have a lack of memorable tasks. The non-elimination legs turned out to be on the wrong legs for me.

« Last Edit: December 08, 2012, 07:09:29 AM by starrynight »

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Well at the time of watching TAR13, I thought it was the most horrible thing to ever happen to the world. But now, several years later, it is about a million times better than the current seasons. In fact, only 15, 17 and 18 were better than 13 (of the seasons that came after it) in my opinion.

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Cause you said you'd never let me go, and I said I can but now we knowThat it's too hard to say three words, too hard to make it workWhen there's nothing left to talk about, cause you know the flame is running outTwo hearts are left to burn... do you know, we're only left with smoke

Well I've finished 4 and I definitely think 13 is better. The winners of 4 are pretty boring to me, and it brings up an annoyance for me about the show, the use of contestants for some kind of social message. In this case it was using them as a representative of gay people. It's an entertainment show, I don't want moralising. But it's the kind of things you get in American shows I guess.

Otherwise I thought they destroyed the suspense by saying 'will be eliminated' in so many legs instead of 'may be'. They tried to create suspense in a leg by not showing a time penalty (on the winners) ticking down and showing another team on the mat instead of them (making us think Chip and Reichen might have been eliminated).

The present season is probably inferior even to season 4 as that had self-driving and more good locations. Other recent seasons though have in my opinion been pretty good, including 20.

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Reality Fan Forum, where 'enthusiasm' is completely redefined as not meaning having an interest in and having something to say but as having to be completely positive even about aspects of something you disagree on. So both the fan and forum (discussion) aspects are prescribed/limited.

I thought I would have another go at finishing those seasons I didn't quite manage to earlier this year. I started with season 13 and I did it!

It's not actually as bad as I thought. The cast isn't that likeable, but I suppose the winners are ok. The big thing that puts it above a season like the current one is that there are better challenges. For instance that wooden bicycle going down hills at that speed just wouldn't be allowed now. They make everything easier now. Funny where they got all that powder thrown over them as well, or had to work out the pattern on the maori warriers faces.

Still some things that annoy me and mean I can't have it among my big favourites though. The romance thing they push is annoying, same in AR3 but that at least had a better cast. Losing a passport kills any suspense in a leg, so that happening does lessen a season. Also other teams helping others out and enabling them to survive a leg without them doing so on their own merit irks me. Dan and Andrew should have been eliminated and the all girl team (reminiscent of the red heads in a later season) should have continued their rivalry with the siblings. On the positive side we did get some ridiculous footage of them doing the marching task, but I think it was at too big a cost.

Here is my opinion.

4: Kind of boring. Nothing really excited happened, I would put it off even further.

13: Another boring season, put that off as well.

9: My favorite season. If you like hostility between teams, the last five or so legs of Season 9 are epic. Its a must watch.

2: I liked Season 2. Very underrated Season.

8: Didn't even bother watching. The only season I didn't and will not watch.

I thought the Linz's were kind of creepy. The Bransen's were kind of boring. The Weaver's were somewhat depressing. The Gaghan's were neat and I wish the Black's had been in it longer. The Paolo's were at times entertaining and at others irritating

Looking at 9 and BJ and Tyler are just way too much, really over the top in your face simple humour. Another team just goes on about girls in every episode which is a bit boring. The mother and daughter team or the all girl team (eliminated due to a yield and not getting passed on the statue task just because the pieces weren't fully in?) mean the race might end up lacking variety.

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Reality Fan Forum, where 'enthusiasm' is completely redefined as not meaning having an interest in and having something to say but as having to be completely positive even about aspects of something you disagree on. So both the fan and forum (discussion) aspects are prescribed/limited.

Looking at 9 and BJ and Tyler are just way too much, really over the top in your face simple humour. Another team just goes on about girls in every episode which is a bit boring. The mother and daughter team or the all girl team (eliminated due to a yield and not getting passed on the statue task just because the pieces weren't fully in?) mean the race might end up lacking variety.

Trust me, continue watching Season 9. I thought the beginning was pretty boring also, it ended up being the most interesting season of the Amazing Race.

No, if you think how starrynight does about the first half (which in my opinion is the better half) it only gets worse. Much worse. Out of the Final 5, Ray & Yolanda and Joseph & Monica are the only teams who aren't unbearable.

TAR 4. I hate Chip and Reichen. I wanted Jon and Kelly to win so I'm biased.

TAR 2. How can you have not seen TAR 2? Go watch it right now! The ChaCha team, Tara and Will bickering, the original Fern. I love this season.

Of the final teams in 4 I would have preferred Jon and Kelly to win, though I think I preferred Millie and Chuck more.

But Will is an asshole? Never understood the popularity of 'ChaChaCha', they might have less personality than even the cowboys. I guess they got support as people knew they would do well and have a chance to win and/or they weren't as hateable as many of the other unlikeable teams in that season. So many of the teams make arrogant comments in the interviews, saying they know this and that.

And still with 2... one leg the teams knew it was a non-elimination just by reading the clue. And the next leg the girls just give up again killing all suspense. Some processional tasks as well.

With BJ and Tyler it was good when they pretended teams had to sign up for an early morning task by writing out pretend instructions. But all the prancing around is just trying too hard, and just too loud all the time. Brook was lively, but Claire was different as well so more of a contrast. Bopper was probably preferable as well, though that team wasn't a big favourite of mine.

« Last Edit: December 09, 2012, 08:19:02 AM by starrynight »

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No, if you think how starrynight does about the first half (which in my opinion is the better half) it only gets worse. Much worse. Out of the Final 5, Ray & Yolanda and Joseph & Monica are the only teams who aren't unbearable.

Maybe I am different, but the team I am rooting for doesn't have to win for me to enjoy a season. I just found the drama and hostility between the teams to be very interesting.

I would rather watch an interesting season with a winner I didn't like than having my favorite team breeze through the season with 8 first place finishes in legs.

Liking the winner isn't everything I suppose, but it does help if you at least like some teams towards the end, and at least one in the final.

Finished season 2. I was rooting for Blake and Paige by the end. They finally got some coverage in the outback episode (which had decent tasks). The race became more enjoyable then as there was someone to root for. The producers kept pushing the whole relationship thing with Will and his ex, and really I got bored of it. Of the final 3 the winners probably got the least coverage and so it was hard to get excited about them winning. Overall this season was about navigation and much of it self-navigation (which is great). But I wish there were more difficult tasks at times. Also a frequent weakness of the race for me are the FFs, they are often so easy to do. It would be more interesting if they were not such a foregone conclusion that the first team there wins it or can complete it.

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The Fast Forwards are supposed to easy. They were pretty much a free pass for to the Pit Stop that could only be used once. Competition wise, I think Season 3 did the best, while still having most of them simple.

Maybe when they had them in every leg it was more just a tactical thing, though some definitely wasted it when they didn't really need to use it. Now though it is available only a few times and so needs to be tough I think.

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Never understood the popularity of 'ChaChaCha', they might have less personality than even the cowboys. I guess they got support as people knew they would do well and have a chance to win and/or they weren't as hateable as many of the other unlikeable teams in that season. So many of the teams make arrogant comments in the interviews, saying they know this and that.

Oswald & Danny were the wheelbarrow of TAR2; they carried that season.

There are entire casts that can't equal the charm, flair, and charisma of Oswald & Danny's toe jam.

I also hated Reichen & Chip. I absolutely loved Kelly/Jon, David/Jeff, Millie/Chuck, Tian/Jaree and Monica/Sheree, so I really wish one of them would have won and made that season a lot better. I really like the first five legs of TAR4 with some amazing location choices there, and even the Malaysian legs and especially the South Korean leg were amazing for me. I did not enjoy India (besides the bull hanging on thing) or Australia or the finale.

Looking back at the first four seasons, it is very suspenseless to have "will be eliminated" every time, but back then, we didn't know any better I suppose!

As for Oswald & Danny - without doubt my favourite male/male team of all time!

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Cause you said you'd never let me go, and I said I can but now we knowThat it's too hard to say three words, too hard to make it workWhen there's nothing left to talk about, cause you know the flame is running outTwo hearts are left to burn... do you know, we're only left with smoke

Oswald and Danny didn't make me laugh at all, and seemed to be as arrogant as others on the race.

Season 9 - ugh, annoyed Monica and Joseph didn't make the final. I was kind of expecting it with the fun edit BJ and Tyler get and how they always edit to Monica looking angry. That's the only team worth rooting for at the end for me, so the final is a bit of a non-event. Ray and Yolanda bore me, no real conection with the main theme of the season which was really about the other 3 teams in the final 4. The old couple were ok but they did well getting as far as they did. BJ and Tyler seemed a bit over the top with their games against Monica and Joseph. The rivalry was still fun in a way but getting cut short before the final is a letdown. The hippies obviously lucked out themselves being last in 2 non-elimination legs. I found it a bit annoying how they always called themselves the nice guys.

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Maybe it is just me, but I found TAR4 to be quite boring in general, and I became just slightly less interested in TAR at that point. It also made me worry that it would never return as a result, but thankfully they won the Emmy.